The wave of explosions and fires has targeted diverse locations including apartment complexes, oil refineries, roads near major airports, and even a shoe factory. While Iranian officials have publicly attributed the incidents to aging infrastructure, gas leaks, and coincidental malfunctions, they privately suspect a coordinated campaign designed to create instability, The New York Times reported.

Iranian authorities have focused their suspicions on Israel, citing its extensive history of covert operations within Iran, including previous explosions and assassinations. A European official who deals with Iran independently assessed the attacks as sabotage and suspected Israeli involvement, according to The New York Times. The officials spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

A senior Israeli intelligence official had vowed to continue operating in Iran following Israel's 12-day bombing campaign against the country last month. The incidents have occurred at a rate of one to two explosions per day across Iran, creating what officials describe as widespread anxiety among both government personnel and the general population.

Among the most significant incidents was a fire at a major oil-producing refinery in the southern city of Abadan on Saturday that killed one person, injured several others, and disabled a production line. Other explosions have struck residential buildings with such force that they sent massive plumes of smoke into the air while collapsing walls and ceilings.

Iranian officials have not provided evidence to support their sabotage suspicions, and authorities who spoke publicly continued to cite alternative explanations including gas leaks, garbage fires, and deteriorating infrastructure. However, they have also failed to provide convincing explanations for why gas explosions are occurring at such an unprecedented rate across the country, The New York Times noted.

The Iranian authorities remain hesitant to publicly declare their suspicions about potential Israeli involvement because they fear being cornered into having to retaliate against Israel. Iran's air defense systems, missile launchers, military bases, and nuclear facilities sustained significant damage during last month's conflict, leaving the country's military capabilities weakened.

Although Iran maintained its ability to launch ballistic missiles into Israel until the final hours before a ceasefire ended the conflict, officials worry that restarting hostilities could further compromise Iran's military strength. This strategic vulnerability has influenced Iran's decision to maintain public silence about potential Israeli involvement while privately investigating the incidents.

Iran: A fire broke out at the refinery facilities in the city of Abadan, in the southwest of the country.
Gas leak? pic.twitter.com/jSVfzoLbfE

— daniel (@LionsOfZion_ORG) July 19, 2025

Some explosions have targeted strategically sensitive locations beyond basic infrastructure. One blast occurred at a high-rise compound in Tehran that provides discounted housing to judiciary employees, blowing out walls and windows. The three Iranian officials told The New York Times they believe saboteurs might have deliberately targeted the location to create panic among judges and prosecutors, similar to Israel's previous campaign of assassinating nuclear scientists.

In another case in Qom, an apartment building explosion was so powerful it resembled the aftermath of a bomb blast, with first-floor walls brought down and windows shattered. A yellow taxi parked on the street was crushed under rubble, and the blast injured seven people while covering the entire surrounding block in debris, according to videos published on social media and BBC Persian.

The unit that exploded appeared to have been rented by operatives who left the building after turning on stove and oven gas, seemingly to deliberately spark a blaze, two Iranian officials told The New York Times. This pattern suggests a level of planning and coordination that contradicts official explanations of accidental gas leaks.

For over a decade before the recent war, Israel and Iran conducted their battles primarily through covert operations spanning air, land, sea, and cyberspace. Israel has repeatedly carried out clandestine operations in Iran, including explosions and drone strikes targeting nuclear facilities and military figures. Iran has responded by attacking Israeli-owned ships in the Persian Gulf, launching missiles at Israel-linked structures in Iraq, and funding armed groups like Hamas in Gaza.

Publicly, Iranian officials have attempted to explain away the fires through various means. In cases such as the blaze near Mashhad International Airport in northeast Iran, officials claimed they were conducting "controlled burning of weeds," while attributing a Tehran fire to garbage burning. For most blazes, however, Iranian officials have blamed gas leaks caused by what the director of Tehran's fire and public safety departments, Ghodratollah Mohammadi, described to state media as "worn-out equipment, the use of substandard gas appliances and disregard for safety principles."

The Revolutionary Guards member interviewed by The New York Times stated that the cumulative effect of near-daily explosions has created a growing sense of anxiety among both officials and Iranian citizens more broadly, regardless of whether some incidents were genuine accidents. "The Iranian government's long record of cover-ups and lack of transparency, along with its vague responses, have only deepened public fear and suspicion," said Omid Memarian, an Iran expert at DAWN, a Washington-based foreign policy research institute. "People are aware the regime often downplays or denies Israeli attacks."

Without public acknowledgment of what many Iranian residents perceive as coordinated attacks, some citizens have questioned whether the war truly ended. "A lot of us think that it is Israel's doing and that war is going to start again," said Mohammed, who runs a cafe and art gallery in Kashan. He requested anonymity over fears of repercussions for speaking to foreign news media, adding that he felt "scared and paranoid," particularly because Kashan is located near nuclear sites and missile bases.

Mahdi Mohammadi, a conservative politician and senior advisor to Iran's head of Parliament, described the situation with Israel as unpredictable. "If anyone thinks we are dealing with linear events that we can predict, they are naïve," Mohammadi said in one of his regular recorded speeches distributed on Telegram. "We are not even in a ceasefire now; we are in a fragile suspension, and any minute it can end, and we are back at war."

Many Iranians have also questioned the circumstances surrounding the death last week of Brig. Gen. Gholamhossein Gheybparvar, a deputy commander of the Revolutionary Guards who oversaw a Tehran military base responsible for crackdowns on women-led protests in 2021. According to a state media announcement, he died from complications related to chemical weapons injuries sustained during Iran's 1980s war with Iraq, which had flared up amid stress from the recent conflict with Israel.

Officials have attempted various approaches to address public anxieties about the ongoing incidents. The national gas company released statistics arguing there was no notable increase in explosions from gas leaks this year compared to last year's figures. The Tehran City Council invited the gas company and ministry of energy to present reports regarding "recent measures and developments," describing the discussion as addressing the situation under "normal circumstances."

To cope with mounting stress, many Iranians have turned to dark humor on social media, sharing photoshopped images of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wearing the uniform of Iran's national gas company.

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An explosion was reported Wednesday on a central gas pipeline in southwestern Iran.

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The Tasnim news agency reported that tremors from the blast were felt throughout the surrounding area and said that the explosion had occurred because the infrastructure was old.

Video: Social media

"This accident did not lead to any casualties," a local official from the oil-rich province of Khuzestan told state media, adding that the fire had been put out.

However, the Saudi news outlet Al Arabyia, which operates form the United Arab Emirates, quoted local officials saying they suspected that the explosion had been set off deliberately.

Pictures posted on social media showed flames at the site of the blast.

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With less than two weeks to go before nuclear talks between Iran and western powers are slated to restart in Vienna, the Iranian regime appears to have stepped up its production of sensitive equipment, in particular components of centrifuges, US officials have told the Wall Street Journal.

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According to the WSJ report, unidentified diplomats familiar with Tehran's activities have claimed that the Karaj facility – located some 50 km. (31 miles) northwest of Tehran – restarted activity in August, and operations have since ramped up.

Until recently, the Karaj site was under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency, but that oversight was stopped after an explosion that Iran attributed to Israel damaged some of the equipment that was being used to document activity at the location.

The sources expressed concern that Iran could divert advanced centrifuges to undeclared sites to move closer to a nuclear weapon.

One diplomat suggested that enough parts for 170 centrifuges have been produced since the facility reopened.

Since the renewal of production, Iran has refused to allow IAEA inspectors access to the site, the WSJ reported.

In September, Iran acknowledged that it removed surveillance cameras installed by nuclear inspectors.

While there is reportedly no evidence that Iran is planning to move the centrifuge parts into a weapons program, one sourced diplomat suggested that "as the number of unmonitored centrifuges increases, the likelihood for this scenario increases."

i24NEWS contributed to this report

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Satellite image provider ImageSat International reported Thursday that it had located the source of an explosion reported earlier this week at an Iranian facility operated by the Revolutionary Guards Corps.

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Israel opted not to respond to reports about the blast, which occurred on Sunday at a research center west of Tehran. The explosion caused a fire that injured three people who were at the site, two of whom died of their injuries after being evacuated to the hospital.

On Sunday, Iranian state TV quoted an IRGC confirmation that "On Sunday evening a fire broke out in one of the IRGC … research centers in the west of Tehran. Three people were injured and the fire has been contained."

The original Iranian reports did not address the blast, the fire, or detail the extent of the damage caused. On Monday, the IRGC released the names of the two casualties in the incident.

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A sabotage attempt on a building of the Iranian atomic energy organization located west of Tehran on June 23 caused minor damage to the structure, but none to equipment, the Iranian government said Tuesday, blaming the attack on Israel.

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Satellite images appearing to show that part of a roof was missing were taken while the building was under repair, government spokesman Ali Rabiei told state media.

"We have had no damage to equipment. There was small damage to a roof and the [satellite] pictures were taken when the roof was removed for repairs," Rabiei said, according to Islamic Republic News Agency.

He said the incident was an attempt by Israel to derail talks aimed at reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal with world powers, which Israel opposes. "The Zionist regime has carried out these actions ... to halt Iran and say that the world does not need to talk to Iran," he said.

The Prime Minister's Office declined to comment.

Iran has accused Israel of several attacks on facilities linked to its nuclear program and killing its nuclear scientists over the past years. Israel has neither denied nor confirmed the allegations.

Iranian state media said that the sabotage attempt had been foiled, with no "loss of life or property damage".

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Satellite photographs taken Thursday show the burned hulk that remains of Iran's biggest warship after it caught fire and sank in the Gulf of Oman.

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The photos from Planet Labs Inc., analyzed by The Associated Press, show the 207-meter (679-foot) Kharg just off the coast of the Iranian port city of Jask, surrounded by a sea of oil-slicked waters. Iranian officials have not acknowledged the pollution left behind by the ship's sinking on Wednesday.

The photos show the ship partially submerged, with debris floating in the water around it.

Iranian state media reported that 400 sailors and trainee cadets on board fled the vessel, while 33 suffered injuries in the incident. Iranian officials have offered no cause for the fire.

The fire Wednesday aboard the Kharg warship follows a series of mysterious explosions that began in 2019, targeting commercial ships in the Gulf of Oman. The US Navy accused Iran of targeting the ships with limpet mines, timed explosives typically attached by divers to a vessel's hull.

Iran denied that, though US Navy footage showed Revolutionary Guard members removing one unexploded limpet mine from a ship. The attacks came amid heightened tensions between the US and Iran after then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers. Negotiations on saving the accord continue in Vienna.

In April, an Iranian ship called the MV Saviz believed to be a Guard base and anchored for years in the Red Sea off Yemen was targeted in an attack suspected to have been carried out by Israel. It escalated a years-long shadow war in the Middle East between the two countries, ranging from strikes in Syria, assaults on ships and attacks on Iran's nuclear program.

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A massive fire broke out at the main oil refinery serving the Iranian capital of Tehran, sending thick plumes of black smoke over the city Wednesday evening.

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More than an hour after the blaze started, flames and thick clouds of black smoke could be seen reaching high into the sky across Tehran, according to an AFP correspondent.

An "accident was caused by a leak from an emergency liquified gas line," triggering "an explosion which caused the start of the fire that we can observe," Tehran crisis team chief Mansour Darajati told state television.

Mojtaba Khaledi, the spokesman for the Iranian Health Ministry's emergency operation center, told the semiofficial ISNA news agency that 10 ambulances and other equipment had been deployed at the scene. Hospitals in the area were on standby as well, he said. There have been no confirmed reports of injuries or death thus far.

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The cause of the fire is still undetermined, although temperatures in Tehran reached 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), Wednesday. Hot summer weather in Iran has caused fires in the past.

This was the third large fire to break out at an Iranian petrochemical plan in two weeks.

Iran's oil infrastructure is in dire straits due to declining industry profits, the result of US sanctions imposed in 2014.

A spokesman for the Tondgooyan Petrochemical Co. dismissed speculation regarding an act of sabotage, according to a report on the state television's Telegram channel. However, apparent accidents at sensitive Iranian nuclear and military sites have later been found to be acts of deliberate damage.

i24NEWS contributed to this report.

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The administration of US President Joe Biden demanded that Israel cut down on the "chatter" concerning the alleged attacks against Iran's nuclear facilities, Channel 12 News reported on Friday.

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The unsourced report described the US message as "resolute," using a Hebrew word that can also mean "aggressive," and said that it was relayed through "multiple channels."

The leaks by Israeli officials concerning sabotage operations against Tehran's nuclear program undermine the US effort to bring Iran back to the negotiating table, and "embarrass" American diplomats, US officials told Jerusalem, according to the report.

Earlier this week Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif openly accused Israel of launching an attack on the Natanz nuclear complex, where a power outage occurred on Sunday, described as an act of "terrorism" by Tehran.

Citing "Western intelligence officials," the New York Times attributed the attack to Israel.

Several Israeli officials, including former Mossad chief Danny Yatom, have subsequently expressed concerns about what they called a "leak" to the NYT concerning Israel's involvement in the blackout at Natanz.

This article was first published by i24NEWS.

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Farzin Nadimi, an associate fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told JNS the recent series of strange accidents in Iran "were a mixture of industrial mishaps" and "suspected cyberattacks." The Natanz explosion, for example, was "apparently concluded as a bomb blast caused by an infiltrator or infiltrators."

Nadimi said Iranian officials are not willing to talk about it just yet "because they're still looking for the culprit(s) and figuring out how to respond."

"What is almost sure, however," he said, "is that they want their response to be proportional with similar magnitudes."

In June, explosions occurred at the military complex of Parchin and in the Sina At'har health center in Tehran.

In July, a series of explosions occurred, including at Iran's largest nuclear enrichment facility in the city of Natanz; at the Shahid Medhaj Zargan power plant in the city of Ahvaz; in the oxygen factory in the town of Baqershahr; at a missile facility belonging to the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps; at the Tondgooyan petrochemical plant; in an industrial complex near Mashad; on an oil pipeline in Ahvaz, and at a power plant in Isfahan Province.

Also in July, a large fire broke out at a shipyard in the southern Iranian port city of Bushehr, and 70 people were injured following a chlorine gas leak at the Karoon Petrochemical Plant in the city of Mahshahr. An aluminum factory in the industrial city of Lamard caught fire, and another fire broke out at a petrochemical plant in Khuzestan Province.

Nadimi said that if Iran believes that Israel was behind the Natanz attack – considered more serious since it targeted Iran's nuclear program – Iran "will try to target Israel's nuclear infrastructure or something as important because they might not be able to get to an Israeli nuclear site 'on foot' for a sabotage attack."

"This time they will definitely do something after they figure things out," he said of Iran.

Reacting to these mysterious events taking place in Iran, Raz Zimmt, a research fellow specializing in Iran at the Institute for National Security Studies, wrote on Facebook that "even if the latest incidents cannot be connected and even if most of them are not the result of a sabotage campaign, the heightened sense of stress it foments inside Iran piles additional pressure on the government to take drastic measures."

"Eventually," Zimmt wrote, "Tehran may cave to those pressures, despite the leadership's desire to avoid severe steps before it can recalibrate its strategy to reflect the results of the November US presidential election."

Iran has plenty to deal with at the moment, including coronavirus, crippling US sanctions, a deep economic crisis and domestic issues. There are also the upcoming US presidential elections, which could see the election of Joe Biden and the Democrats in power—a party that would be interested in appeasing Iran by removing the current sanctions.

'Iran most certainly gets the hint'

The Islamic Republic began violating the 2015 nuclear deal last year, using advanced centrifuges and stockpiling more heavy water and enriched uranium.

The Trump administration has applied broad economic, trade, scientific and military sanctions against Iran for its regional belligerency and non-compliance with international norms.

Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where he focuses on Iranian security and political issues, said he had "originally taken an Occam's Razor approach to these reported fires and explosions – meaning that the simplest explanation was likely to be the truest.

"As of late June," he said, "that meant seriously considering the thesis that some of these explosions were merely the result of regime incompetence, too much secrecy and poor security protocols. But stringing the series of attacks together, the theory of foreign sabotage makes the most sense."

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The fact that so many important and strategic sites have exploded or gone up in flames in just a matter of weeks demonstrates to the leadership that its sensitive sites "are not as secure as the regime may have thought," he said.

Ben Taleblu said that the regime is too embarrassed by these incidents to admit its vulnerability publicly or to overtly engage in some form of retaliation abroad since it will "force the regime to admit this deficiency at home, which can also cause problems."

"In short," he said, "Iran's escalation options are limited, but not non-existent."

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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"We'll see what happens with Iran. If they do anything, it will be a very bad mistake," Trump told reporters at the White House. "If they do anything they will suffer greatly."

"It's going to be a bad problem for Iran if something happens. I can tell you that," said Trump. "They're not going to be happy. They're not going to be happy people."

The president did not elaborate on the threat, saying, "You can figure it out yourself. They know what I mean by it."

Trump's comments came after the United Arab Emirates reported four commercial vessels had been sabotaged on Sunday near Fujairah emirate just outside the Strait of Hormuz. Iran sought to distance itself from the incident.

An American military team's initial assessment, however, was that Iranian or Iranian-backed proxies used explosives to blow large holes in the four ships anchored off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, a U.S. official said Monday.

The official said each ship has a five- to 10-foot hole in it, near or just below the water line, and the team's early belief is that the holes were caused by explosive charges. The team of U.S. military experts was sent to investigate the damages at the request of the UAE, but American officials have not provided any details about what exactly happened or any proof as yet about the possible Iranian involvement in the explosions.

The official was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Gulf officials have characterized the damage to the tankers as sabotage. Two Saudi oil tankers, a Norwegian-flagged vessel, and a bunkering tanker flagged in Sharjah, one of the UAE's seven emirates, all suffered similar damage Sunday.

The U.S. has warned ships that "Iran or its proxies" could be targeting maritime traffic in the region, and America has moved additional ships and aircraft into the region.

The incident comes after months of increasing diplomatic and economic pressure on Iran, which the U.S. accuses of threatening American interests and allies in the region, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Washington withdrew last year from a 2015 pact between Iran and global powers aimed at reining in Tehran's nuclear plans. Since then, the United States has also ratcheted up sanctions on Iran, saying it wanted to reduce its oil exports to zero.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo canceled a trip to Moscow on Monday and instead stopped in Brussels to share information on "escalating" threats from Iran with European allies and NATO officials, the U.S. special representative for Iran said.

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